“Oh god, Aric,” she moaned.

  She watched his eyes glaze over as he took in her black lacy thong. Staring at her fixedly, he slowly dragged the dress off of her body, revealing her matching lace bra. His eyes fell on the swell of her breasts and she tenderly placed a hand on his chest as his breathing fired up. She pinched a nipple and he sucked in a breath. He traced the tip of his fingers up her inner thigh at the same time his head disappeared in between her cleavage. She almost jumped out of her skin when his moist lips brushed against her nipple through the lace of the bra.

  Pushing aside her thong, he dipped a finger inside her, thrusting oh-so-slowly, it was driving her nuts. She was wet and weeping for him already and his fingers glide through her as if it just found a new home.

  Her head fell against the pillow as he withdrew his finger and, thrust it in again and began a circular motion inside her. She felt delirious. He was going to be the death of her.

  How long time stood still? She couldn’t tell, but somehow, between them both, they got rid of his jeans and boxer briefs.

  She devoured him with her eyes when his nakedness was finally revealed to her. “You’re perfect,” she murmured.

  With his teeth, he discarded her bra and tossed it aside while making guttural sounds that drove her wild. His fingers continued to torture her while her core wept copiously for him. With his lips and fingers, he tormented and took her to heights she never imagined. She begged and threatened and said a lot of things she couldn’t remember. She thrashed in the bed and called him all kinds of names as his ministrations were unending. Always, she arched her back and gave him more access to her center whenever he pushed a finger deeper or harder. She moaned and screamed whenever he sucked or nibbled on a taut nipple with his naughty tongue.

  When she couldn’t take it anymore, she grabbed his dick in her hands and began to pump it as feverishly as she felt.

  “I want you, Aric, I want you now.”

  “Soon, baby,” he said and added another finger inside her.

  Her breaths came out in short gasps now. She was sweating and shaking from head to toe and he wanted to wait? No sir, she needed him inside her yesterday.

  “Now,” she insisted. She was not about to wait a second longer.

  Holding firmly to his hard shaft, she guided it inside her. Slapping his hands away, she let the tip touch her folds. She closed her eyes in delight as he buckled on top of her. He was no longer complaining.

  With speed that surprised her, he pushed into her so hard the bed creaked loudly. She wasn’t going to complain; the powerful shove was everything she wanted. Again and again he slammed into her, his sweat mixing with hers. She wrapped her legs around him, not about to let him go this time. They stared into each other’s eyes, letting each stroke into her deliver the message left unsaid nine years ago – the first and last time they made love before now.

  Candace knew that she was bound to this man in ways she couldn’t begin to explain. Each time he drove into her, she felt the connection, breathed it. It was powerful, she felt weak as it pulled her, reeling her further into the web that was Aric Simmons.

  Don’t think Candace. Feel.

  She didn’t know who said those words and she decided she didn’t care.

  Digging her heels into the bed and her fingers into his back, she let the tide of feelings wash over her. He leaned down to capture her lips, even while she rose to meet every stroke of his. He drove harder and faster, she met him tempo for tempo. He got wilder and she got wilder. Together, they held on for the longest time, holding on to sanity as long as they could.

  In the end, they both came together, shouting their impassioned release into the room.

  Chapter Seven

  Aric was hammering into her so hard the entire house was about to come crashing down with the force of his lovemaking. This combined with the hissing coming from the flowing water in the shower bolstered his euphoria, his ecstasy. He backed Candy against the wall, as the water cascaded down their bodies, and spread her legs wider so he could gain better access to her warm center. Their breathing was harsh, loud. It was no wonder; they’d been making love for hours.

  She let him do what he wanted with her. It was going to be her turn soon, he knew. They had agreed. The pounding in the shower continued. The sudden peal of the doorbell accompanied it. He was not going to let an uninvited guest interrupt his flow. If anything had happened to his girls, Kyra would have called them. Knowing that his daughters were safe was all that mattered. And the other person who mattered most to him was right here being dicked down by him. And besides, it didn’t seem as if Candace had heard the doorbell anyway, so why bother? If it was an emergency, whoever it was at the door would be sure to return. Or maybe it was only in his head, just a figment of his imagination.

  When he was spent, she refused to let him out. She was grinning like the cat that ended up with the canary as she held his dick prisoner in her. He wanted to kiss her until they were both unconscious. Gently, she pushed him against the tiled wall like he did with her and peppered kisses down the length of his chest. He couldn’t help the soft moans that escaped his lips; he knew how much his moans turned her on.

  Her lips found his nipples – he was sure they were as hard as tiny pebbles - and she gave a good suck, making mewling noises when he grabbed her butt and squeezed hard. Her butt was soft and round and fitted right into his two palms, with a little overspill, which he loved. He squeezed again – he could never get enough of her. She ground her center against him. He felt himself begin to grow hard again.

  Her finger dug into his belly button – he had the type that disappeared all the way into his stomach - and she had been as excited as a child unwrapping Christmas gifts, to discover last night that it was one of his soft spots. He was a pathetic wuss whenever she touched him there. Even now, he was groaning pitiably.

  “Please, Candy, please.” Then he mumbled something even he himself couldn’t decipher.

  Her smile got broader. Slowly, she kissed his jaw and moved to his neck. Impulsively, she caught a lobe in her teeth and bit down softly. He moaned. She had just discovered another soft spot and didn’t she already know it, the temptress. Her smile couldn’t get any broader at this stage. She was enjoying every moment of discovering what made him tick. He couldn’t blame her; he had done the same to her last night.

  Holding on to him like a lifeline, she began to gyrate her hips, driving him deeper into her in the process. He grew harder and harder inside her even though he had said just before he entered her the last time that he couldn’t possibly go another round with her.

  She had said he had no idea.

  She was right.

  She pounded him hard against the wall, while he begged her to make him come. Suddenly, she ceased all movements, looked him dead in the eye and began to pull out of him.

  He seized her butt. “Noooo.”

  She pushed in again. He gaze on her face as she took his lips. He didn’t know which of their lips was cold but it felt…right. He found her folds, separated them and pushed a finger into her right along with his dick, causing her to shiver violently.

  “You had your turn,” she accused him.

  He grinned. He could never resist her.

  She began to move faster and faster, driving him in and out of her, her body slammed into him. The feelings which washed over him were as much as the shower was – rapid and uncontrollable. He wanted her even though she was presently sexing him up. Even though he was exhausted, he felt it was possible for him to go stark raving mad with desire for this woman.

  He had no idea when he began to drive into her too even though it wasn’t the agreement. He grabbed her bouncing breasts and pulled the nipples into his mouth, which drove her wild as much as she did him. He watched her as she gave him everything. The water cascaded over her dark smooth skin, the contrast against his own never more glaring and beautiful. She was lovely and he couldn’t have enough of her. His heart beat louder, threatening to escape his chest.

  The pounding continued long after she fell against him, limp.

  “Is somebody knocking at the door?” she asked weakly. “You’re expecting anyone to come?”

  The sound of her voice delighted his ears and he nipped at her lips. “The only people coming right now are you and me.”

  “Seriously, somebody is knocking, Aric,” she said and laughed when he pinched her butt, “I can hear the bell, too.”

  Aric realized she was right. The pounding hadn’t been in his head. It had been his door all along. He grinned at Candace.

  “And here I was thinking I was the one causing all the thunder and firecrackers,” he said.

  “Oh, you caused enough, lover boy,” she said in a perfect imitation of a Texan drawl. “You made this girl’s heart flip over too many times to count.”

  Quickly, he finished his shower and slapping her playfully on her butt. He wrapped a towel around himself as he padded out.

  “I’ll be right back,” he promised.

  She gave him a leery wink.

  The pounding got louder as he neared the living room and he cursed loudly, wondering who it could be so early in the morning.

  He hoped to god it was someone with a good explanation. He and Candace had plans to execute before they prepared to go to Kyra’s house for the girls. He didn’t want to waste a single minute of his time, which should really be spent with her.

  His mind was occupied with the image of her bathing naked in his shower as he opened the door without bothering to look through the peep hole first. Immediately, he regretted his action.

  At the door, stood a gaunt, harder, coarser looking version of himself.

  “Hello, big bro! Happy to see me?”

  Anybody who knew Aric and Geoff Simmons for all of two minutes would know Aric would never be happy to see Geoff, unless he cleaned up his act.

  Aric cursed inwardly when he remembered Candace was in the shower waiting for him. Geoff always had bad timing, but this was the worst of it.

  And what’s more, Aric knew why he was right here on his front porch. His best kept secret was rearing its ugly head dangerously close to the surface.

  Chapter Eight

  Somebody give her a medal already. She’d gone and fallen in love with him all over again.

  The thought brought a smile to her lips as she turned off the shower. Well, it was to be expected, wasn’t it? She had always been in love with him; there’d never been a moment in the time they’d known each other that she wasn’t. She had been in love with him when he walked into their class many years ago looking scared but trying hard to hide it. She had been in love with him when he went on his first date. She’d given him money to take the girl to a nice restaurant in town – he had come back roaring drunk to tell her they’d spent the money on booze instead. She had loved him when she went to school in Paris and he, to Tulane. She had loved him when she’d finally mustered the nerve to tell him how she felt about him, but he had told her that he was getting married instead.

  The question really was – had she ever stopped loving Aric Simmons?

  Apparently not, she decided. If she had, it wouldn’t be so easy to fall in love all over again, would it? Oh heck, she didn’t know. All she could say for herself was she didn’t think any man could ever bring out the best in her like Aric did. She had run from him only to end up in his arms nine years later.

  Talk about fate.

  She got out of the shower, wrapped a clean towel around her body and quickly tiptoed into the master bedroom she and Aric had occupied earlier. There, she undo the towel and began to vigorously rub her body dry with it. She tingled in all kinds of places and she smiled a little when she saw the disaster which was Aric’s room. They really had turned everywhere inside out all night. Her gaze fell on his boxer briefs and her bra lying on the floor intertwined like their owners had been most of the night. Her black dress peeked from under the bed and wasn’t that her thong tangled up in the bed sheets?

  Candace closed her eyes as memories of last night assailed her. How many times had they made love? Five? Six? Seven? She couldn’t remember. They had gone on and on the entire night, uncaring about sleep or fatigue. They couldn’t get enough of each other. She remembered falling asleep after the third time only to come slowly awake to him gently massaging her insides with his delightful tongue. She had dreamed of him licking her coochie but it had not been a dream at all. She was moaning loudly when she came to the reality of his tongue lapping inside her. She’d told him just hours before, when they were languishing in each other’s arms after a fervent round of sex, that her body was his for the night, and he could take her whenever he wanted. Well, he wanted her all right.

  “Aric?” she had said sleepily.

  And then, with his dick at her moist entrance, he pushed all the way in with the force of a tornado and that was all she remembered before she fell off the precipice.

  There had been that one time, too, when they both knelt on the floor while he entered her from behind. She had held on to the bedpost for dear life while he pumped into her and assaulted her breasts wickedly.

  Grinning at the memory, she looked down to touch her full breasts; they missed him already even though she felt sore. God, she felt sore.

  Deliciously sore.

  But she wanted him again.

  Speaking of which…where was he?

  He’d gone to answer the door but hadn’t come back since. He’d said he wasn’t expecting anyone and she’d decided it was some stubborn delivery guy who didn’t want to return with the package. Good thing he had security, so any and everybody couldn’t just enter his premises without being thoroughly searched.

  A smile touched her lips. Perhaps, he was making them breakfast. She looked into his closet and randomly chose one of his T-shirts to wear.

  Her phone rang just then. She glanced at the screen and then answered the call. “Hi, mom!”

  “Oh, somebody sounds chirpy this morning.”

  She laughed. Aric had certainly done an amazing job, if her mom could perceive her mood from hundreds of miles away. “It’s a bright morning, mom,” she said. “How’s dad?”

  “Well, he is right here. Lyric had Kyra call us to tell us all about her new look-alike friend, Kenny Simmons. We spoke to the sweet girl, too – very well mannered. You have been keeping things from us, Candace.”

  Candace rolled her eyes. “Not really, mom. I know if I told you Aric was in Chicago, you and dad would get on the first flight out here.”

  Her mom chuckled. “You’re exaggerating, my dear.”

  She heard shuffling sounds and deduced that her mom was handing the phone over to her dad.

  “Hi pumpkin,” her father said. He had called her that for as long as she could remember.

  “Hi, dad—” she said, but her father was still talking.

  “We might be old, but we aren’t blind!”

  Candace was surprised. She thought nobody knew she had a thing for Aric. Not even Aric himself knew about it until recently. But her parents were not done throwing the bombshells.

  “We knew he’d moved to Chicago,” her mother piped up in the background.

  “What?” her jaw was hanging low. “You knew and didn’t tell me? We speak to each other every week!”

  “Yes,” Nate said unashamedly. “In fact, I told Ellen not to say a word of it to you. We were hoping you would find out for yourself, although it was a long shot. And apparently, you had and didn’t say a thing.”

  She could hear her mother murmuring her approval in the background.

  “Bu—but, dad…”

  “Don’t you ‘but dad’,” her mom said. Apparently, her dad had given the phone back to her mom. She was sounding like an irate fairy godmother who’d made the perfect match between two people, but got no thanks for her efforts. Candace felt like sticking her tongue out at her.

  “It’s barely two months, mom,” she said evasively.

  “Yet, you’re already sleeping in his house and his daughter is sleeping in yours.”

  “Bu—but—” Candace sputtered, because she was embarrassed that she was caught by her parents, to boot.

  “And don’t you dare try to deny it,” her dad said in the background. “Kyra told us all about it.”

  Candace groaned. She shouldn’t have told Kyra she was at Aric’s. Sometime last night, Kyra had called to ask how the date went. At that exact time, Aric had walked in with chocolate whipped cream and had decided to drizzle little hearts on her stomach. Kyra had caught her hiss when Aric began to lick it off her. “Way to go, girl,” Kyra had said and hung up the phone.

  “Should we expect a December wedding?” her father asked. His voice sounded hollow.

  “Did you guys just put me on speaker?”

  “Yes, dear!” her dad said. “So we won’t have to pass the phone back and forth to talk to you.”

  “I always thought you would make a beautiful winter bride,” her mother said as if the conversation had never been interrupted by her daughter’s question.

  Of course, Candace knew everybody meant well – her mother, father and Kyra and even the girls, but she still felt like gathering them all up and tossing them into the next train to Timbuktu. A girl could not even have herself a goodnight without everybody announcing it to the world.

  “All right mom, bye dad, I think I hear Aric calling,” she said, “I will tell him you said ‘hi’.”

  With that, she ended the call. “December wedding my foot,” she grumbled. Who told them Aric wanted to get married again? Hadn’t he been shackled up once? And how would they know if she wanted marriage? She could be in this for the sex too, couldn’t she?

  And then, pigs could fly, Candy.

  Casual sex had never been her thing and if she was honest with herself, she had to admit it, it still wasn’t. She wasn’t banging the socks off Aric for the sex alone. But then, what else could she hope to gain?

  She had no idea.

  Perhaps, she needed to give herself a little pep talk. Or better yet, have a serious, heart-to-heart talk with Aric. They were no longer teenagers afraid to express their feelings; they were adults now and the more they put things out in the open, the better. Whatever it was they had going on, Candace preferred they put a definition to it right now before assumptions started flying around and somebody got hurt in the end. Stepping out the door, Candace decided that whatever Aric professed to having with her at the moment, she was up for it. If he wanted sex only, then by god, she was going to keep giving it to him. She had spent nine long years without him and that was enough. She was going to take what she could now and think about the next nine years when it came.